KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025 LIVE Score: Andre Russell walks out after Krunal Pandya wreaks havoc on KKR

KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025 LIVE Score: RCB are making timely inroads, as Krunal Pandya has Venkatesh Iyer playing on. Iyer did not last long after Sunil Narine and Ajinkya Rahane were finally dismissed to put some smile on RCB's faces but not before both unleashed a barrage of fours and sixes for KKR....Read More

Rahane, the captain, has come to Kolkata Knight Riders' rescue and blasted his way to a 25-ball fifty. Accompanying him was Narine, whose unorthodox batting continued to pay dividends for KKR. Rahane and Narine have waste no time. Both batters have been itching to play the big shots and got KKR going to end the Powerplay at 60/1. It had been quite the start to the 2025 season of the IPL, with the first over witnessing a boundary, a dropped catch and a wicket, with Josh Hazlewood dismissing Quinton de Kock. Rajat Patidar earlier won his first toss as captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and chose to bowl first against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, who themselves have a new captain in the form of Rahane.

As the season in India shifts into the summer and the temperatures begin to soar, the Indian Premier League (IPL) makes its return for its 18th season, the start of a fresh cycle, and the promise of two more months of exciting cricket in stadiums around the country and on screens every single night. There has been some phenomenal cricket from India in the last 10 months in limited overs cricket, with Rohit Sharma's men winning two back-to-back ICC titles in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy. Now, Indian fans turn their attention to their respective franchises. The IPL is back, there is a buzz in the air, and it is time to get excited.

Of course, the IPL carnival has been in motion for many months, with the retention picks and the auction back in November setting the stage for not only this season but for a couple of years to come. It is a clean slate for all of these teams, for some of the more historic names to continue their domination, for the other more unfortunate ones to use this as an opportunity to leave their mark. And it all begins today in Kolkata, at the spiritual home of Indian cricket, one of the oldest stadiums in the country and one synonymous with the sport. Eden Gardens prepares to host a showstopping curtain-raiser for IPL 18, and it is the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders getting the show on the road at home. Their opponents for the day, a team hunting its first trophy even to this day: Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

It is one of the oldest rivalries in IPL history, going all the way back to the famous first match of the tournament all the way back in 2008, made famous through Brendon McCullum’s carnage. This is a match that always produces the spectacular, for better or worse — memorable contests involving Chris Gayle on both sides of the divide, the infamous 49 all-out suffered by RCB, the fiery confrontation between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, and last year’s match where Karn Sharma nearly pulled off a miracle against Mitchell Starc. This is a match-up that always delivers, and it is only right that these are the opponents the defending champions have the honour of going up against.

Looking back to last year, both these teams had memorable seasons. KKR dominated the group stage, but then were in a different stratosphere as they waltzed through the playoffs to gain their third trophy, and remind everyone that they are one of the IPL’s big boys. On the other hand, it was a start to forget, as they only had two points on the board after eight games. At that point in time, with a 1-7 record, they were out for all money, destined to finish last, not a snowball’s chance in hell of making the playoffs. But then something special happened: in a situation where they had to do something unheard of and win six games on the trot to even give themselves a chance, they managed to do just that. Win after win after win late in the season to keep themselves alive, all the way up to that match against CSK. Ultimately, all that momentum wasn’t enough as they crashed out of the eliminator, but it was still a season to remember.

What happened next? KKR tried to keep hold of their main players, but did let go of their captain Shreyas Iyer and their strike bowler Mitchell Starc. Nevertheless, they used up their six retentions, so the same faces — Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy — will still be at the Eden Gardens. RCB, meanwhile, went the opposite direction. A salt-the-earth, start-from-scratch policy saw them retain only three players, those being their franchise stalwart Virat Kohli, new captain Rajat Patidar, and the uncapped Yash Dayal. Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, and the others from that team departed, giving RCB a big budget and the license to spend it in the auction.

Now, the two teams enter this new season with the same goals and aspirations. That being to use the new pieces they have picked up and to make a run at the final. RCB fans always have that saying, ee sala cup namde, this year the cup is ours. And it is always loudest right before the season begins. For this new look team, with Phil Salt and Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the chance is right there to re-write history, to go on and do for this cricket-crazy city which no other set of RCB players have managed before. It could all start with this visit to the champions, who under Ajinkya Rahane will just be expecting more of the same. There is so much at stake as the IPL returns, and you couldn’t ask for a bigger blockbuster for it to begin with.

Here are some pointers to KKR vs RCB, IPL 2025:

- Krunal Pandya got the big wickets of Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh

- Ajinkya Rahane brought up his fifty in just 25 balls

- KKR were 60/1 at the end of the powerplay

- Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine's partnership raced past 50 in just 19 balls

- Rajat Patidar won his first toss as RCB captain and chose to bowl first

- This is the first time that KKR and RCB are playing the tournament opener since the inaugural season of the IPL in 2008

- Both sides are boasting new captains in Ajinkya Rahane (KKR) and Rajat Patidar

- Virat Kohli will become the third Indian after Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik to play 400 T20 matches

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